Fall 2018

Dear Classmate:

It’s hard to believe that another Luther Homecoming is upon us and that a year has passed since we celebrated our 25th Class Reunion. Over 200 of us celebrated together, refreshed friendships and remembered together our Luther days with much, much laughter. I’m very grateful to those who made our reunion celebration possible, including co-chairs Wendy (Jaycox) Davidson, Kirsten (Roverud) Heine, and Karen (Titus) Trewin. A shout-out to Chad Thomley, our Master of Ceremonies, whose college memories brought the house down! Thank you!

My sincere thanks also go out to the Reunion Planning Committee members, whose names are listed below. The committee members all spent many hours reaching out to every member of our class via cards, letters, phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages. In addition to extending an invitation to attend the reunion, committee members created awareness regarding the 25th Reunion Giving campaign. As a result of these efforts and your generosity, Wendy presented President Carlson with a ‘check’ for $334,866.86 which represented the gifts collected and pledges received from our class.

Since that time, total reunion giving has increased to $360,443.79, including $12,899.71 of gifts and pledges to the Class of 1992 Scholarship. Once fully endowed at a level of $25,000 or more, this fund will annually provide one or more scholarships to deserving Luther students, enabling another generation of memory making in beautiful Decorah, Iowa. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you consider joining me and Renee in making a gift to the scholarship fund.

Students in the Class of 2022 were among the 575 new students who arrived on campus in August. Over the summer, they read a book that many of us remember from Paideia, The Odyssey. If you’re up for a return to your Paideia roots, you can join the fun through Luther’s reading guide to the book: luther.edu/paideia/program/summer-reading/the-odyssey.

Speaking of homecomings, this year we’ll celebrate two important milestones during Luther’s Homecoming Weekend, October 26–28. First, the Black Student Union (BSU) will commemorate its 50th anniversary. Luther’s Nursing Department also observes a birthday—its 40th—this fall. For more information on the Homecoming festivities, see  luther.edu/homecoming/schedule.

Finally, most have heard that President Paula Carlson will retire at the end of the 2018–19 academic year.  Under President Carlson’s leadership, Luther added several academic programs, renewed outdoor facilities, expanded Career Center services, developed and launched the “Next Steps for Sophomores” program, added a dean of institutional Equity and Inclusion and achieved Luther’s goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 50 percent by the end of 2015. Luther’s Board of Regents has initiated a presidential search process with the goal of transitioning leadership next summer and having a new president in place for the start of the 2019–20 academic year.  Please join me in thanking President Carlson for her service to the college and wishing her the best that retirement has to offer!

CLASS NOTES 

Stephanie Agresta is the global director of enterprise growth at Qnary in New York.

Cynthia (Mausser) Williams is an account manager at Constellation Energy in Omaha, Neb.  

Anne Discher is executive director of the Child and Family Policy Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

Joe Dobrowits is senior engineer at Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee.

Emily (Lawrence) Meyer is costumer at Southwest High School and director of Confirmation Reformation in Minneapolis. She is also co-authoring and editing a book on Buddhist meditation and Christian contemplative practices and writes children’s stories for Clergy Stuff Resources.